Google decides to litigate instead of innovate, sues Apple over Siri and more

Motorola Mobility has filed suit again Apple with the International Trade Commission (ITC) over patents reportedly related to Apple's personal digital assistant feature, Siri and more. Patent suits between Apple and various Android manufacturers are a dime a dozen these days, but what makes this one stand out is that a) Google now owns Motorola, b) Google previously tried to manipulate public sentiment by claiming Apple sought to litigate instead of innovate, c) Google is now litigating. Bloomberg reports:

The complaint at the U.S. International Trade Commission claims infringement of seven Motorola Mobility patents on features including location reminders, e-mail notification and phone/video players, Motorola Mobility said today. The case seeks a ban on U.S. imports of devices including the iPhone, iPad and Mac computers. Apple’s products are made in Asia.

Of course, Google and Motorola are well within their legal rights to sue Apple or anyone whom they believe is infringing on their patents without proper license. Once again, it's not what Google does, but the needless hypocrisy they preface it with that's so distasteful.

Using feigned philosophy and nobility to motivate and mobilize the support of a user base is one thing, but conning them is another. It happened before when Google claimed to be "open" and turned out to barely even be "openy. Lucky for Google, many don't pay attention -- or turn a blind eye -- to the details. But even the most ardent, least attentive supporter will eventually figure out they're being played. Then Google will enjoy the equal and opposite reaction.

With these lawsuits, Google is doing what Google feel they have to do. Just like Apple's doing with their lawsuits. That's fine. Any company sufficiently large is indistinguishable from evil. Just be candid with your users about it. Tell them you're going thermonuclear. Don't hold up a dove and play a hippie jingle, all the while lighting up the napalm.

While you cheer and say Apple deserves a taste of their own medicine, I'll be here thinking of the people who might be saving to buy an iPad, only to (potentially) have the opportunity taken away -- by Google. That makes me sad, and seeing Android fans cheer in droves makes me even sadder. We pride ourselves on the choice Android and Google give us, so seeing them try to take away a fair choice is not something I can support. Don't be evil, Google. Even when the other kids on the playground are.

"Lucky for Google, many don't pay attention -- or turn a blind eye -- to the details. But even the most ardent, least attentive supporter will eventually figure out they're being played. Then Google will enjoy the equal and opposite reaction." -- Your Opinion

"With these lawsuits, Google is doing what Google feel they have to do. Just like Apple's doing with their lawsuits." --Your Opinion

"Any company sufficiently large is indistinguishable from evil." --Your Opinion

So now people who like android aren't allowed to be on a site? What ever arguments you can make about the article contents, or even the contents of previous comments, there isn't really any excuse to call for censor. At least the site admins have more sense than that.

That said, sorry Rene. I'm a pretty nuetral party, developing for WP7, iOS, and Android, and don't really have a set main OS. It depends on what I'm working on. I don't have a bias. I do find your articles to be somewhat slanted. You might not see it, but I tend to. However, you are one of the most neutral "apple bloggers" I've read, so that's good. Just not quite as perpendicular as you might think.

I think he was merely pointing out how Google specifically stated that they was above this and then turns around to sue on patents they never owned or innovated themselves before buying up the dying Motorola. With that said I think Google has every right for suing Apple and I applaud them for actually stepping forward and defending Androids precious OEMs. You really should do it the right way though. I think the only thing that is perpendicular is that Android fans are so quick to call apple out and are so easy to forget what Google said mere weeks ago and applaud them for doing exactly the same thing. Even coming to an iOS blog to flame.

Anyways I applaud you being a developer. Neither OS would be as great as they are without you and the many great devs that spend a bunch of time making mobile smartphones better. What apps have you developed I would love to check some out on either my iPad, iPhone 4s, Galaxy Nexus, or Nexus 7. I'm just starting development and I applaud all work in mobile as it is tough and usually goes unappreciated. Keep up the great work!

QUOTE:
E-Man "you are one of the most neutral "apple bloggers" I've read, so that's good. Just not quite as perpendicular as you might think."

I agree

As for saying that Google has decided to litigate instead of innovating, I think that is a bold misleading statment. This is the first time Google has ever sued for Patents & they are doing it to deffend themselves & their OEMS after hundreds of lawsuits by Apple directed at Google & co over the past few years.

that's not the first time and buying the corporates, which innovates, isn't the same as innovating...trLOL ... why do U think a advertisement company need a Department of Strategic Acquisitions, which was founded after the Android acquisition ??? they know they will be stealing and they know they will be sued ... thats why they was and still are pouring bazillions in patent shopping... as to protect their's Asses and to destroy every ad competition possible... I cant believe how blind DOJ people are to allow the Motorola acquisition... the Googlevil-monster is nothing in compare with the evil-monster that GOOGLOROLA will became... this one is the apocalyptic CRAKEN ...that will destroy everyone...!!!
EVERY ONE... using , developing or supporting Googlevil today is
helping the Kid-vilain-Lary to forge a grim Matrix-like-World of tomorrow... REMEMBER... When U use his products... Ur Ass belong to him as same as Ur privacy ... as Ur freedom... as Ur life !!!
its seems like people will realize that... when its too late !!! FYALLI

Are you retarded?!? :confused: Apple is the company that is controlling your every step when you own their products. Google is open and free. They invented many things, Apple hasn't invented something since Wozniak left the company. They only steal from every software developer out there. I am no fanboy of Android, while it is my OS of choice because I develop ROMs for the phones I own. I just want Apple to learn its lesson. iMessenger was stolen from BB, Notification bar from Palm, Touch screen phones from Palm, iPhone from Linksys, Thunderbolt technology from Intel, Magnetic charger for Laptops from Asian crockery, 30-pin power connector (charge iPhone/Pads/Pods) from Motorola, Apple TV from Microsoft Media Center, Apple logo from Genesis 3:6 Eve took a bite of an apple, Digital Camera from Kodak and Fuji, Current OS from Debian BSD, App store from Ubuntu, Tablet from DOS based Gridpad in 1989 and then SEVERAL tablets from Microsoft after that, MP3 player from Diamond RIO, Inductive charging from Palm and Nikola Tesla, First Laptop with handle from Data View from 1985, Infrared keyboard also from the Data View in 1985. As you can see, they don't invent anything. They take lots of GREAT things OTHER companies make and build them into their own product...

This is insane, I just want Apple to stop this childish bullshit and stop holding the technology industry back and help instead of ruining things. I don't want Apple gone, if they were gone, Google wouldn't have anyone to compete against and the consumers would lose in the end. No steps forward would be made. So EVERYONE needs to grow up and stop being fanboys, iOS isn't for me. I just don't like the lock down there. I prefer Android because I build custom ROMs for it and I am only 16.

& U'r mum have stolen U'r sperm from Sergay and Lary ... LOL... for how many freaking years did U collect all this BS from all that nasty Droid Chat-rooms... didn't U'r mum told U that U shouldn't believe everything U hear? ... DUDE.... if iOS isn't for U, than WTH are U doing on iMore... why don't U just crawl back in U'r green garbage bin and enjoy the sweet waste ???

Why don't you first off learn how to spell and show some civility. I am here because I am glad Google is going to put Apple in their place. Apple is like the whining bitch of the industries and now she is gonna be shut up. I spent less than an hour finding all these FACTS. Look'em up, they are true. So good luck with your bitch company, maybe one day she will grow up to be an adult.

Actually they aren't putting Apple in it's place. They'd have to win to do that, which they won't. Voice Dictation software has been around for ages therefore Google doesn't own it... Thanks for playing though, its been real fun laughing at your post.

Where in the hell did you get Voice Dictation software from?! I didn't say a word about that... LOL. And Motorola Mobility has plenty of patents that Apple is infringing on. Now that Google has bought out MM, they own the patents and can use them against Apple. Apple has no chance of having the jury say "They win" on the first day since both companies are US based and both in California. Go let Apple keep on butt raping you, we all know you iSheep love it. It really pisses me off when people wanna talk some shit and they know they are wrong.

I'm sorry I figured that you were smart enough to know that voice dictation software has been doing what google voice and Siri for over a decade, apparently you're not. The patent that Motorola owned was for 3G tech, which is technically owned by a different company, which is the same company that apple bought there's from so it's technically not infringement... And talk about butt raping, the iPhone 3GS still gets all the updates and still is able to run the apps that are out today where as old android devices are all obsolete (see Samsung Gem) so yeah your totally avoiding the butt raping, haha.

Would you like to know why the iPhone 3GS still runs the same apps because the software has never had anything new in it. So saying that an old phone on a recently (re-released) "new" firmware means nothing to me. They have made no major changes in their software since the beginning. Android has continually gotten better and outpaced iOS in every way possible. You can say "Well android will never be as fast and fluid as the iPhone!" wrong that has been exceeded by Jellybean. Android is continuing to get better and innovating while iOS is growing stale, fast. I am not a fan boy, I choose the better experience. I can name several things that iOS has and never will have but Android has had from the beginning. Voice dictation software means nothing to me because that was not part of the argument. It was owned by Motorola Mobility, the 3G software interface/how it works with the hardware. Google now has access to those and not Apple... I will come back with facts and prove you wrong every time, don't try and win because you won't.

Well, if you are complaining about him defending Apple I think you would better belong to the AndroidCentral, WPCentral, or Web OS Central. I mean seriously, you can't tell him to "get off your knees and stop choking on Apple" when this is clearly an Apple Forum.

I'm not sure if you comprehend that this is an APPLE site, so let me help you realize that. Regardless if the articles are one-sided or not, if you don't like reading them, then don't read them. It is literally, that simple. I don't know what you guys discuss in your little Google circle jerks, but clearly it has to do with "Hmm, how can we troll the Apple consumers today?" Apparently you created an account with this site so that you could bash what we choose to talk about, man, Google should be really proud of their fan base. But hey, if bothering all of us with your childish antics is what helps you sleep it night, then do you pal. However, if anyone is on their knees here, it's you at eye level with Larry Page's waist.

Excuse me, back to the topic...
"The case seeks a ban on U.S. imports of devices including the iPhone, iPad and Mac computers."
LMAO, is this Moto's attempt to rid the competition? Sad...
What Google doesn't realize is, and I can guarentee this, if Apple were to fall (which we all know how unlikely that is), all the iPhone users aren't going to run for the Android hills. I'm willing to bet that if we Apple consumers did not have the option to use an iOS device for whatever reason, we would easily go to either a BlackBerry or Windows device, before picking up an Android OS device. Why? Because, Apple users like SOLID engineering, clean UI, and reliability. Even if BlackBerry is slow at times, or Windows doesn't have as much to offer on the market or UI, IT WORKS at the end of the day. I can't tell you how many customers I have who come in my store every day and say "My Droid is frozen, or won't turn on, or keeps force closing apps, or formatted my memory card, or the camera won't open." Whatever the case may be, and it is a clear result of a poor OS, plain and simple. So going after the neck of Apple over some miniscule patent issues in pursuit of causing it's downfall in order to gain more consumers of the Android market is a rediculous move in my opinion.

I love this post, should Apple die (lol), its Windows Phone all the way for me, man. At least Microsoft has found a way to halfway work with apple. Yes, they are competitors but with a mutual interest and thats what matters, not acting like a child and refusing to work together because you're greedy and don't want to pay the innovators there due.

Thanks RENE, for poking in the bee nest for us... as U can see how many mad Andro-drones
here are coming out to attack U... pretty sad though... the problem is that during iFans are from a kind nature- powered by love... much like hobbits... living in theyr's peaceful Shire... the Andro-drones are evil freaks driven by pure hate on the entire world...much like orcs... the army of darkness, created by the Dark Lord Pageron to destroy the world as we know it.... now more than ever, we need someone like U... Rene Legolas with your precise bow-shuts on our side... remember during all the Andro-Ring-OS was given for free to anyone .... there was a secret one... created to rule them ALL ... one after other the once proud kings like MOTO, was falling down to became Nazguls and join the Army of Darkness... remember the times ...as wizard Steve Gandalf the gray died and Pageron has corrupted Steve's fellow wizard Eric Schmiduman to join the Dark Force... all happened not long time ago ... and now as the Crack of Doom approaches... would U resist ??? Remember... the Googl-evil's EYE is always watching !!!

Almost without fail, I can tell when an article was written by Rene either by the title, subject matter or the first couple of sentences. Not even joking. I couldn't count how often I start reading and think to myself, "Wait - this is a Rene Ritchie article, isn't it?" And 95% of the time, I'm right.

Rene - it's ok, man. We all know your feelings towards Google and, more generally, anything anti-Apple. With no concern to whether or not you're right in your opinions (and I often agree with you), I can say that almost every article you write, in some way, defends or advocates Apple's position. You are an editorialist blogger, not a journalist. I've come to terms with the fact that I'm going to find biased writing from you on this site - and that's fine. It's your site, your platform. But you're only kidding yourself if you think your writing is not regularly slanted in Apple's favor.

"My writing is perpendicular. You're just leaning decidedly one way when you read it." Your writing is perpendicular? PLEASE Ritchie your writing is so slanted it borders on unprofessional; who are you trying to convince? And do you realize how ridiculous you sound when you claim that its not you who's slanted, its EVERYONE ELSE that reads the article? Do you think that by saying you have no problem with Google suing Apple you're somehow in the clear? Your articles are BY FAR the most slanted and fanboy-ish on all of Mobile Nations, especially that one where you completely take Apple's side and claim that Samsung has indeed blatantly copied Apple and then start to point out all the supposed times Samsung has copied everyone. Please. But I want to know, what do you get out of it? What do you get out of taking Apple's side all the time and why is it so important to you? Do you work for them? Do you own the company? Do they pay you to post slanted articles? Or is it like a sports team kind of devotion that you have for that company? You're too old for this type of crap and it makes you and iMore look VERY unproffesional. So unless you want people to stop visiting this website I strongly advise that you stop mixing your fervent passion for an electronics company with factual reporting because as it turns out, they don't mix very well.

They aren't really litigating instead of innovating.-- The problem is, Android is at risk of getting completely killed by the courts. What Google needs to do is, get a carrot held over Apple's head, which forces them to stop their litigation.

I'm sure Google will try to bargain for a royalty free cross-licensing deal when it is all over.

It like any war. You can't just build a wall and hope it never gets penetrated. You need a military to defend it, and shoot at anyone who gets too close.

Apple started this whole anti competition sentiment when they demanded Samsung products be removed from the market.

Apple is abusing patent law to try & eliminate competition. Google is just fighting back as they should; I don't believe any company should be able to patent "Rectangles with rounded corners", "Mobile devices that utilize a touch screen", "Mobile devices with an earpiece located near the user's ear & microphone by the user's mouth", or "Mobile devices with icons on the screen".

I mean seriously, half of the technologies Apple products utilized were created way before Apple emerged into the mobile market.

My hopes regarding the "Motorola Mobility v. Apple" case is that the 2 companies agree to license their patented "IP" to the other & let the competition continue. I don't wish for a ban of either company's products.

As a side note: Apple Inc. is the greediest company I have ever laid eyes on; beside maybe Enron Corp. If Apple had their way, the iPhone would be the only smartphone on the market, with an additional monthly subscription fee of $49.99 deemed a "User Update Fee" and iTunes would be premium software with a price tag of $29.99/due with each iTunes update. Besides that, the data cables provided with Apple products would be "90-Day Self-Dissolving" requiring users to purchase another cable for $39.99 in order to continue using their devices.

Disclaimer: The preceding comments are my own opinions on this highly debated subject; I believe everyone is entitled to their own & I will not slam anyone for voicing their own; On that note, I expect to be shown the same respect.

It's funny you read it that way. Rene has a huge point. I'm in no way sticking up for Apple, but at least Apple didn't come out and say they was above suing people and then buy up a dying company for patents and then open suite. I think Rene and others would not give a damn if this hadnt happened. It's funny how Apple is always the bad guy yet Google can do no wrong even when it was just a short short while ago.

Not surprising given they need leverage against the OS X spotlight and data detection patents Apple used against the Galaxy Nexus and HTC. Mobile search/ads is Google's raison d'entre for Android, so this was written on the wall when those features started being adversely effected by the warfare.

Sharma15, please stop posting and deleting over and over again. They stay visible to staff and make the thread incredibly cluttered.

I think Google has indeed innovated, and Apple too. Google mislead their online supporters to thinking one way, then went another. That's stings. I get it. They made me feel foolish for believing the "Don't be Evil" when I knew I should know better.

At least Apple acts all bat crap litigation crazy, so it isn't a surprise.

This stings. I get it. Just like "we're open, unlike Apple -- but you can't have the Honeycomb source code!"

Nobody likes to be made a fool of, and hopefully we'll all get more reasonable expectations set after this, and not attack each other, but realize we're in it together -- none of these companies are above any of it.

I don't really like Rene, he looks like a creeper, but he is right here. I own an iPhone for work but I am a Google fanboy. I am currently even trying to get all my ducks in order to re-contact the recruiter for employment. With that said, Rene is somewhat right as well as Jerry over at Android Central. The lawsuits HAVE to stop and innovation has to take over. FROM BOTH SIDES! Some things I like from Apple, such as my MacBook Pro with the 10 hour battery. Some things I like from Google, my Galaxy Nexus and Google TV. But when you focus on this constant bickering innovation and imagination suffer. Just a shame to see two great companies playing this retarded 'I don't like you' game.

The "personal attack" was my opinion from watching your podcast and seeing your pictures posted. And the "personal attack" was more to show that I am not a fan of yours yet I am supporting your opinion on the matter. You are so blinded by the one sentence that you totally missed the point. If you read the rest of my comment you can see that I supported your opinion, not that you care of course.

Honeycomb source code was released when ICS source code was released. For a professional, you aren't very informed or research well... I am 16, develop custom ROMs and know what's going on. This being posted 1 day ago via the time stamp, is a false statement on your part.

And when Google "turned their back" on net neutrality because they needed Verizon to help them sell smartphones? How many times do users have to get screwed over before people are willing to admit Google is no more noble than Apple or anyone else?

Indeed Rene. Now go spew that crap to Apple. You are giddy like a school girl when Apple sues. Remeber your Samsung's Dent in the Universe Abortion article? You flamed Samsung for every little thing. Now that the shoe is on the other foot, you cry.

Funny man. If you would just admit you area total biased Apple fanboy and don't care what Apple does, I would respect you. Your articles would still be crap, but I could respect it.

You should know better by now that irony does not translate on the Internet - and that goes doubly true for headlines. When you repeatedly couch Apple behavior with the neutral "they want to make Andorid less useful" but in a headline the far more serious-sounding charge that Google is one to "litigate rather than innovate," you should hardly be shocked at the reaction from Android fans.

jeez these people really like ripping on you huh? What you all fail to realize is making personal attacks on an author will do nothing... do you really think he cares what you think? If you are going to argue, make a valid arguement, dont just attack.

But most of your articles pretty much lean towards apple and their gifted patents. I get what you're saying. Google sounds a lot like a presidential candidate right now but google, at the end of the day is simply fighting back against a company that has taken full advantage of a seriously flawed system and process of awarding patents. Sad part is google has to use this same tactic in order to compete. but don't come down on google because you feel they're misleading the pubic by saying and believing one thing and then doing another. The "moral" rules of this game have been thrown out a long time ago. everyone is trying to stay in the race and like it or not, both sides are doing whats fair... regardless of whose pretending to have clean hands.

Ok Rene, that's flame bait waiting to happen. And I'm calling out both you and Jerry here. The argument of don't be evil, innovate not litigate. Of course this is what WE all wanted. So you are calling out a company that has said enough is enough.

Both sides in this fight have played to their base. Right now you are hearing the android side saying hallelujah it took you guys long enough.

Just please get off the sophistry that Google is being hypocritical here. This is the first step in finally getting this to end.

whole army of supporters loose against Apple? the truth is people don't like Steve job that hypocrite with his thermal nuclear war bullied people , i think no one likes bully, there are so many new ios 7 features are also taken from android , just like ios 6 or ios 5 and most of people before can care less
if Google was to sue like the way that apple sues , i think apple will have to rewrite all the ios just like the disaster turn by turn navigation system , that force all apple user to download google map
i think if Steve job if he wants to steal then he should of just be quite after all, all of his ideas are stolen ? no? look at Microsoft vs apple , he did admit that hes developing team did stole the ideas
from xerox and xerox never got a penny from apple yet apple manage to charge 130 some odd patent to Microsoft, how great is that i steal your home work then i charge the next kid the home work that i claimed i did ? common please just under stand he is no better then any one else
so understand there is a cause and affect and i think this is only the little affect considering all the other features no?

"Google decides to litigate instead of innovate"? Is that a serious title? Apple has been doing the exact same thing lately. But it's ok for them, right? Have you ever titled an article like this when Apple was the one suing?

Quis are you smoking something. Its titled that way because its about google going back on what they said. Apple never said innovate instead litigate and google did. Now instead of innovating they are litigating. Why is it so hard for yall to get this?

Have you read the comments over there? Hardly anyone agrees with Jerry. The truth is this:

You sue someone over nonsense, they'll sue you in return.

You try to ban me, I'll try to ban you.

It's almost as if you think that by coming out and saying that we'll sue anyone that that somehow makes Apple better. Many people say one thing and end up doing another when the situation comes upon them. Circumstances can change anyone.

Like Apple, Motorola doesn't want to be a developer for the world. Why should Apple be allowed to sue and no one else.

When did morals come into play? These are billion dollar companies going to war and there will be blood. And if it's time for Apple to shed some, let it be.

The Editor-In-Chief of a tech site, specializing in Apple is subjective toward Apple and people are surprised because...?
I've read some pretty harsh op eds where Renee tore into the Cupertino cool boys. Subjectivity can go both ways, no one can be more critical than a disappointed fanboy.

On a more topical note patents are part of the process, and when patents are infringed upon, doing so precipitates litigation. It's not appealing, but, like going to the dentist, it can be necessary.

I get it... Google is not wrong for telling everyone that apple is sue happy. But they are wrong for then trying to litigate because they feel apple has been using their technology without paying for it and they attempt to come to a license agreement with apple but Apple turns them down. So you feel its distasteful because Google changed their word and tried to play nice and its fine for apple to just be sue happy and attack everyone because they didn't change their word? Ok cool. You must not like many people then. Google made a mistake for trying to play nice because they saw that it hurt their OEMS. AND PLEASE DONT USE THE FACT THAT HONEYCOMB WASNT RELEASED AS REASON FOR ANDROID TO BE OPENY.... Why doesnt it seem like everyone loves apple and hates when Google takes the offense instead of always defending? Google can't keep playing the wimpy kid.... Articles like this make me hate fanboy sites (android included) because we can never look past our own fan boyism to see that our words are slated. Fan boyism aside Google is not wrong to protect what they believe to be their. Apple is not wrong for protecting what they believe to be theirs. Don't try to say this then input 'but Google should have don't this from the beginning and not said apple is litigating and not innovating and because of this I find Google distasteful.....' it puts the impression on the reader that Google is wrong because YOU are a fanboy....

Apple offered to license to Samsung (which Apple almost never does) and Samsung declined, so Apple sued. So if this is the same thing, and Apple refused, then Google is the same as Apple? That's all I'm saying.

And it seems to me Apple gets called on their BS far more than Google does these days. Apple used to enjoy the kind of passionate, perhaps ill-considered support Google now enjoys. I'm happy that's not longer the case. I think all these companies need us to keep them on their toes.

Also, the word "fanboy" makes it hard to have an intelligent discussion...

If by the same as apple you mean, a company looking to make money off of what they believed their engineers invented, then yes Google is the same as Apple in that regard. I understand as the editor of Imore you must defend apple but why attack Google and their short comings as a company when writing an article that only needs to say Google suing apple back? Why attack that they may not truly be "open source" or that they lied and made everyone believe they would never sue ( which they never did )? Fan boy does make it hard to have an intelligent conversation but then tell me why you brought bits and sources of my information that were not pertinent to this article? Someone who wanted people to believe Google was the bad guy would do that while someone presenting a perpendicular story would only state what pertains to the article.

umm that $35 per phone & $40 per tablet was not an offer.
It didnt just cover Android OSès but also Windows, Symbian, Beta. Apple wanted HUGE royalties for every device that Samsung made. They made sure that the ÈofferÈ was so big that Samsung would never make any $$$ selling phones.

While you cheer and say Apple deserves a taste of their own medicine, I'll be here thinking of the people who might be saving to buy an iPad, only to (potentially) have the opportunity taken away -- by Google.

Hehehe. Yes Jerry yes. And I'll be here thinking of the people who might be saving to buy an galaxy tab or nexus, only to (potentially) have the opportunity taken away -- by Apple. As for Rene.
Try to be neutral and don't try to fool people pretending that you are neutral. This is an apple website but i come here to read informative articles and not "hidden" psychological trolling from editor.

Life goals of a 12 year old Android fanboy: Go to iMore, open an article, don't read the the well written and valid article at all, skip to the comments section to attack Rene or Apple, and be blinded by their own love for themselves. I see quite a few on this post.

As I have been bleating for months here, this is the only logical response for Android. What Jerry fails to understand is that in a system where it takes 3 years to invalidate a patent on swinging side ways on a swing, or 6 years (and counting) to invalidate patents on wireless email (and $612.5 million too late for RIM, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reexamination ) it is corporate suicide to take the "high road" of only filing to invalidate your opposition's patents. If Apple is going to sue on broad, conceptual patents, Google faced two choices - spend millions of dollars in legal fees, and face multiple years of possible injunctions in various jurisdictions, or file their own patents, and threaten back at a fraction of the cost. Only a fatuous idiot asking to be sued by one's own stockholders would choose the former. "Don't be evil" does not mean "be stupid."

Does it make me happy that Google is descending into the same mud pit as Apple? No, not really. But I don't see how they had a choice. The silver lining is that, once Apple blocks Samsung, and then Googorola blocks Apple, the people will understand that process patents in general serve no public good, and tell the children to shut up and develop.

Could be; we'll never know for sure. Despite my preference for iDevices I tend to give Google the benefit of the doubt mainly because of your last word -- fight *back*. We'll know more about the meat of Google's suits Monday, but I suspect they will be as vapid as (IMHO) Apple's functional suits - but the fact Google did not fire the first overbroad patent salvo, and that i have no evidence they would have entered this fray without Android being sued (by proxy) first gives them a teeniest sliver of more more goodwill to me on this specific issue.

Hm, so if Apple wins the first lawsuit, and they ban the Samsung devices, then Google gets a ban on Apple iOS devices, then what will we have that we will like? Next the generally public should sue both companies for acting like idiots.

Here's the thing: I have an adverse reaction to companies, be it Apple, Google, or Microsoft treating us like we're stupid. We know when antennas don't work and when retail staff has been cut, just like we know when you'e open to carriers but not users, or anti-litigious only until you acquire patents.

I dislike it when they lie to us and smugly think we'll believe anything they say simply because we like their brand.

Sometimes it's Apple. This time it was Google. They all deserve to be called out. By everybody.

Who is this Motorola? Oh another POS company that has made Jack. Google some how though since we cant beat Apple in innovation. Well just buy out one of the very first mobile phone makers, So Innovated Google.

For all you Android fanboys out there, here is a look at Google from the other perspective. Sure, plenty of iOS users only blast Google because they are told to, or at least feel that way. Google is the rival. The other team. However, some of us come to our own conclusions about Google from a more reasoned approach. After all of the thought I have put into this subject, I agree with a majority of what Rene said. Google, like Apple, spends a LOT of time pontificating on its own virtues. Just watch their promo video for Google Fiber for the latest evidence of this.

There is a difference, however, that separates these two companies in my mind. Apple is a hardware and software company that sells hardware and software. Sure, they do it with a lot of overdone hype, and use their overall esxperience, ecosystem, and branded retail to pull it all together. However, at the end of the day, they are fairly up front about what they are. They are an incredibly successful business, that operates like a typical Fortune 500 company in more ways than many reslize. They have a board and stockholders that they are accountable to. And, whether you like or agree with their reasons for suing, Apple has been upfront about its patent litigation.

Google, on the other hand, portrays itself as a much different animal than it really is. When you think about it, that is their entire business model. If you walked up to some random person on the street and asked them, "What kind of company is Google?," you might get a few that talk about Android or Gmail, but I think a hefty majority would say that they are a search company. And all of them would be wrong. Google is an ad company. They have been ever since they started monetizing their search business. This is where all that money comes from. This is what they really are.

However, you won't ever hear Google talk about this. They, like any ad company, do an exceedingly good job portray themselves as something they aren't because, let's face it, nobody likes ads. No one really wants ads pushed on them by anyone. So, a good ad company is going to be one of two things: invisible, or a good peddler. Google took the peddler route, but where many companies end up just looking like scams and pyramid schemes, Google backed up their philosophy with quality goods.

Nice free toys or not, however, I have always been very skeptical of Google because of their identity. You all know the saying. If you pay, the thing you paid for is the product. If it's free, YOU are the product, and that will always be true of Google. With Apple, their identity is right there on the surface. Sure, they cover it with slick ads and a lot of talk, but at the end of the day, they sell me hardware and software. That is their main purpose and focus. The same never quite rang true to me for Google. Anything they give to me or sell me is a means to an end. It's not just to get my money, and that has always made me wary of their motives.

Now, with that as a starting point, factor in all the "don't be evil," "innovate, don't litigate," "we think the web should be open," self-righteousness, and you see where a lot of people who aren't Google fans start getting turned off. I can understand that the company once held these ideals in the past, but they have very obviously moved on from them. They are also a very successful Fortune 500 company with a board and investors who want a return on their investments, so they need to step up and act like it. Google is not some altruistic enterprise that some hold it to be. It's a business.

I really thought they were going to start acting like a big boy business when they bought Moto, but it seems that they still want to try and play the holier than thou card. It is very obvious that they are using Motorola's patents offensively now, rather than sticking to the defense-only strategy that they laid out a year ago. That's fine. However, why not shed the hypocracy and come out and say it. Stop hiding behind convienent rhetoric, stand up, and say, "We're going on the attack." This wouldn't make any more inclined to switch platforms or change my opinion of Google as a business, but I would definitely respect them for once for acting like a real company.

For anyone who disagrees with my assertion of Google's hypocracy, there is a critical fact here that no one is talking about. A fact that obviously shows that Google has no intention of coming out from behind their talk. When was this story leaked to the press? It was reported at 7:15 on a Friday evening. That, my friends, is what you call a smoking gun. The ONLY news that gets leaked at that time or later in the weekend are either bad news stories, or ones that companies want to hide. Why Google wants to try and sit on this, rather than about it from the rooftops, I'll never know, but the timing is everything. Whoever made this call didn't want this to be a big story, and there is no way that anyone who knows anything about business and PR can deny that.

So, there you go. Like Rene said in one of his comments, this whole thing is nothing but a big PR Holy War between two big companies with a lot of money, and no moral high ground. Neither of them has that. And for the Google fanboys who want to play the "Apple hit me first" card here, think about this. Google brought this on themselves by not acting like the mega company that they had become. If they had collected a patent portfolio before Moto, which they had ample opportunity to do and money to spend on it, they could have avoided this entire mess. That is the corporately responsible thing to do. From my perspective, their actions don't look like naivety, either. It looks like pure arrogance. "We're so big that no one can touch us." We'll just sit by while Eric Schmidt keeps his seat on Apple's board. What are they gonna do about it?" "We can end around Safari privacy controls. Who's going to stop us? We'll just pay the fine." I think they woke up to the fact that, the stakes in the patent game are MUCH bigger than they thought, and their OEM's paid the price for their hubris.

As far as value judgements go, I don't see Google as being any worse than Apple in this whole patent mess. Yes, Apple is being a bully, but in the corporate world, that is how patents are asserted and defended. As for Google, while they make an attractive victim argument, they bear more responsibility for this mess than they let on. I have always thought that if Schmidt had come clean on Android's change of direction, and stepped down from the Apple board, then Jobs wouldn't have gone off the deep end about patents. His comments made it pretty clear that he felt wronged. That event probably set this whole circus in motion. So, while Google is just doing what they are supposed to be doing with these lawsuit filings, it would just be nice to see them shed the Emperor's weak victim/do gooder/defense only clothes, and act like the powerful Fortune 500 ad company that they are for once.

Re: "Google, on the other hand, portrays itself as a much different animal than it really is."

Exactly. 96% of Google's revenue comes from ads. They sell ads for money, and use that money to fund software development. They give their software away (except for, say, Honeycomb) and that gets geeks on their side.

And why are they suing Apple over Siri? Because they know how important Siri is to Apple, and how profoundly it will affect the rest of the computing industry. And slowing Apple down will help them buy time. They need to catch up.

Apple is in the right to sue Android's OEMS. Samsung went over board withe copying, who we kidding, there's a reason why all of sudden Sammy is doing good in the mobile space, heck even Google warned them not do it despite Google themselves paving the way how to do it.

Google can't have its cake and eat it too, which is the point of the article. There will be no patent peace as long as forceful copying exist. Android is not even a blip in the profit radar for Google's profit which comes by of 98% of ads, think about that for two minutes.

Apple backed Google and Co into a corner and basically revealed Google's true self. "That Don't be evil montra, it's BS" I'm a astute user who likes the ins and outs of any subject and I admit even I was under a veil of what was really going on until several months after the release of the G1. I wanted competition, but I started to see things that turned me off about how they would symptomatically incorporate key features of iOS into the Android OS, as time went on the hardware started to follow suit, then in the same breath insult the the ones they were inspired by.

Seriously, lets be honest, Android is not designed with Windows and MS OEM hardware, it's fathered on OS X and Mac hardware. I think Apple drew the line somewhere and said enough is enough. Eric was a trojan horse, he knew what was going on, Steve trusted him, Steve hand picked all the Apple board members, Steve gave the board members iPhone prototypes.

Not saying Apple is innocent but they are not hiding anything, they are who we thought they were. I would rather know who my enemies are instead of a fake alley that stabs me in the back.

The significance of the iPhone Effect can not be underestimated, users gained control over the carriers. Don't forget that Google is riding bitch to the carriers now. Something that I thought would never happen, well something they promise they would not set out to do. Google was supposed to take what Apple did and take one step further and diminish carrier control, yet all they end up doing was help them regain leverage over users. Example, 10% are on a one year old OS ICS, the lion share still stuck on a two year old OS and still introducing a JB. "Open" but not really only when we say so and "free" well ask Microsoft about that.

Fanboys, Fandroids... Cant we just be happy that the competition between the 2 means better products for all of us in the end?
You talk like apple or google killed your mother. Theyre only friggin gadgets for christs sake! Im a self confessed apple fanboy but I see beyond all this "My team is better than your team" crap.
A little more mutual respect would make the world such a better place

That's the most sensible and logical comment I've heard on this whole topic. At the end of the day, technology is just a set of tools to get things done. If this doesn't work for you, then use that instead, but it's not religion or politics. It's just technology. And if what Apple is about to release in September is just another iPhone 4 rehash that's incrementally upgraded, that means that Cook has run out of ideas to innovate with (not out of the ball park considering how many former Apple Engineers and execs have bailed on him following Jobs passing) and feels the need to try and slow the competition down with lawsuits rather than innovation.

Anyone notice that it was Apple who started this lawsuit nonsense? No one sued Apple first. This is not a move to ban Apple technology, but a move to get Apple to stop the nonsense they started, everyone come to an agreement, and perhaps they can all get back to innovating instead of a pathetic ego based pissing contest.

I get the same feeling. It seems that Apple started this insanity and Google is just giving them a taste of their own medicine. The difference is that Google is still innovating while they are suing. Apple seems like their just suing. Plus, Apple needs to stop acting like they are 100% responsible for 100% of the tech in the iPhone. As if companies like Palm didn't exist.

By the way, this is being typed on an iPad and by someone who is seriously hoping that I will like the next iPhone enough to justify using an upgrade on it rather than one of the latest and greatest Android devices.

Apple didn't start suing until they started getting beat. Fight back with a better product!!!

Articles like this one just adds to the shame. The lack of objectivity is blatantly obvious.

The kid who says fighting is bad and gets beat up again and again and then *eventually* decides to hit back is not a hypocrite. If there is an inconsistency in saying that patents shouldn't be used offensively, but after being indirectly smacked with patent lawsuits left right and center choosing to say "screw it, sitting back clearly isn't getting the message across", it's negligible.

It's not that your "facts" that are wrong -- it's the sensationalist BS that you chose to draw from those facts. It's like watching that school bully whine about the other kid being violent that one time he decided to push back.

(also, your mobile nations registration system has a bug -- I had a CrackBerry account and an Android Central account under different emails but same username [pre-unification, I'm guessing], and it wouldn't let me register the same username because either way it wouldn't match one of the e-mails -- I changed my AC email to the same one as CB, and the problem persisted...)

I still hold to my assertion that Google could have avoided all of this by not acting with such smug arrogance three years ago. All they had to do was act like a real company instead of hiding behind rhetoric and thinking they were too big to be harmed. Yes, Apple has bullied them, but if they had built a patent portfolio, and kept their OEMs in line (I guess they did try a bit with Samsung), then we wouldn't be discussing this. Neither Apple or Google is innocent here.

I was doing my morning reading and just felt like I needed to toss my two cents into the fray here.

I sincerely hope that none of us have any illusions of a higher nobility in either Apple or Google. A the end of the day, they're in the game to make money. Apple released an amazing looking, yet not really that functional smart phone back in 2007. Because it was an Apple product, and was very unique in design and function, it became wildly popular instantaneously. Seeing this popularity, everyone in the mobile ecosphere immediately sought to develop products that were similar enough to draw people to choose them over Apple, often with a lower price point as the main feature. This is the essence of a competitive market.

Enter Android. Google buys this company, and starts to churn out a rival operating system. Google doesn't manufacture hardware, so they make their software available to others and continue to make their money doing what they do: compiling and selling your data. Google looks a little shady here, because they start recruiting people from the iPhone development team, and Apple takes offense. Especially since Google and the iPhone were so closely integrated with search and maps functions from the initial release of the device.

A few years down the line, and Google and Apple have been stealing design features from each other on a regular basis. Notification center anyone? Siri's voice to text interface looks painfully like the interface I had on my original Motorola Droid, so much so that I was shocked by it. Android's original lock screen screams Apple influence. Other software design features are mimicked, often less functionally. Google's hardware manufacturers try packaging the Android software in devices that look close enough to the iPhone to draw people toward them. Again price point is often an issue. Apple files absurd patents on design features like rectangular shaped devices with round edges. Really Apple? Really? Pretty sure the round edged rectangle was here before you. That's an entirely separate commentary on the fatuous pile of cow dung that is our patent system.

Apple wages a war against Samsung, which is well within their rights given their patents, as ridiculous as they may be. Samsung develops a device which I can honestly assess as downright pretty, and quite functional. Again, the essence of competition. They refuse to play ball with Apple, they get sued. That's how it works. Google sees a potential issue with all these lawsuits flying around affecting one of their many money making venues, and decides to fire some lawsuits back. Loyalists everywhere scream, cry, blog, jump up in down, or huddle in a corner and mumble with their head in their hands.

It happens every day. The fact that we, as a user base, still feel the need to make a big deal of it is not a deficiency of the large companies we pay money to, as they're just doing what they do, but rather a deficiency of our humanity in which we feel the need to demonize any entity that works contrary to something we're loyal to.

I'm typing this on a MacBook, I have childlike love for my iPad, and my iPhone is sitting here next to me. You could say I'm a bit of an Apple fan. I support Google for developing and providing an alternative solution for those who don't really like Apple products like I do. The Samsung Galaxy SIII is the most beautiful smart phone I've seen in ages, yet I'll likely never own one, just because Apple device integration is too convenient for me. At the end of the day, patent litigation hurts everyone. Our litigious society likes to file suit based on anything perceived as a slight or inconvenience. This is the world we live in. Neither Apple or Google have any sort of higher moral ground. They're just using a jacked up legal system to ensure their brand comes out on top. End of story.

Oh, and Rene, I don't always agree with you, but this is your blog, and you have every right to you opinion. Trolls will be trolls, delete them and move on. You don't need to defend yourself as much as you do, as you're the editor and chief of the blog they're reading. Feel free to make them disappear. It's well within your rights.

The only reason Google is suing over Siri is bc it takes away Your trackability. Search is now filtered through Apple =no more ad revenue! This is a smokescreen. This is not about patents being abused this is Google wants all that data and info and locations of the millions upon millions of iPhone users and apple just took it away two fold, by Siri and Maps! Google just took a major financial hit and they want the courts to force apple to give it back by removing Siri from Apple products. With apple not having a search engine of its own and other search engines being far inferior Apple would be forced to let Google back in in a major way with a forced removal of Siri! Get a clue people. Google isn't that into you!

A very balanced and even-handed assessment. Both are just companies. Neither one is either good or evil. Like any sucessful public company, they are just out to make the board and investors happy and rich.

This was certainly a long thread with lots of anger and angst. Well, the one thing no one ever mentioned was that with iOS 6 Google stands to lose some (maybe significant?) revenue from maps and some Siri search which goes directly to Yelp rather than Google...is it the Moto acquisition or is it that Apple 'unfriended' Google vis-a-vis it's built in apps...oh yeah, and bye bye to YouTube app, yet another stream of revenue maybe drying up? I'm just saying.

What do you expect from Rene? During a debate the most acrimonious voice usually gets two points deducted. Come on guys/gals. Be nice. Don't be evil. ;)

First let me start by saying yes I am an android fan and have been since the day I started selling the OG Droid and am fully prepared to be attacked because of it. I enjoy your articles on the mess that is all of the court battles and litigations because it is nice to see what the other side has to say. My only complaint against this article is that it has been pretty well known since day one that Google bought Motorola to protect the android ecosystem and try and protect other oems from apple suing their pants off (not to say they are the only ones). Google previously tried to use the Motorola patents to help Samsung I believe it was but they said it wasn't valid. While I see what Google is trying to do I tend to agree with Jerry more. The goal of it all I feel is to end it all and defend the ecosystem but you don't follow one nuke with another nuke. All we are left with is more nuclear fallout and nobody is a winner. Lastly I just want to say I am very saddened by the amount of personal attacks I see against both Jerry and Rene is very sad. What happened to having a good debate with someone without having to say "your stupid" because they don't agree with you?

That's a big part of the reason Google bought Moto, but there was definitely another motive, as well. Remember the shots that Sahnge Jah (pretty sure I butchered that) fired across the bow of his fellow OEMs last year? It was widely reported in the tech world. Moto was struggling, and he decided to at least threaten suing other Android OEMs over patents to create another revenue stream. Considering that Nokia and MS were reported to be raking in cash from licensing deals, that probably seemed like a very smart move. Make money and slow down your competition at them same time.

I think Google knew that they absolutely couldn't allow that to happen. It could have had disastrous effects on their ecosystem and partnerships. They were smart, and in essence, killed two birds with one stone.

Rene you called out the dogs of war on this post buddy. I'll apologize for all the personal attacks. I'd like to think most of the smartphone users here & at Android Central, we populate both sites, are better than this.

As you are well aware I've been fairly public on my gripes with Apple. Very few of those gripes are related to lawsuits. But I'll still poor some fun here & there.

There's little I can add that hasn't been said already. But I'd be lying if I didn't admit I want to see Apple suffer a few import bans just as Google's manufacturers have. I truly believe that is the only way they (Apple) will take a hard look at their own litigious ways at present & reevaluate & regroup. Will customers suffer as well as retailers? Will there be less choice in the market? Yes & yes. But maybe just maybe, the all rich & powerful Apple will not be so quick to run to the court room.

I agree on the changing of philosophy. However, they need to step out from behind the same old above the fray rhetoric, and be more candid if they don't want to be labeled as hypocritical. by others. This certainly isn't essential for them, considering how successful they are, but I think this would win them a lot more respect in the broader tech community. I've heard plenty of writers and bloggers take shots at "Don't be evil," and other similar comments made by Google execs more recently.

Here's the thing- If any of the rumors and renders are true and the iPhone 5 is little more than a third version of the iPhone 4 with slight cosmetic differences and an iOS 6 that looks and functions the same as every other version of iOS with only Siri, and Apple maps being the real differences that matter, all the Apple cry babying in court isn't going to keep cured Koolaid drinkers from bailing to something that doesn't look or act like an iPhone. Neither the GN or GS3 look or act like the iPhone. More people are buying the GS3 than the iPhone 4S. You can make the argument that this is because everyone is waiting to see what the iPhone 5 is. Anyone who is not an entranced Apple zealot that takes their iPhone 4 or 4S out of their pocket and holds it up next to any of the iPhone 5 renders, is going to say "WOW!!! I need an iPhone 5. The renders look almost exactly like an iPhone 4 and a smaller docking port, slightly larger screen, audio port on the bottom, Siri, and Apple maps, are not going to be inspiring to a lot of people who are expecting something new, different, or impressive enough to get a "WOW" out of them. So let's just hope Apple didn't really allow a rehashed 4S design to leak out because it will be underwhelming and if that happens, a lot more people are likely to buy a phone that isn't Apple. All the lawsuits in the world aren't going to stop that from happening. In fact, this lawsuit nonsense that was started buy Apple, isn't going to bring new non-Apple zealot customers in for an iPhone 4 rehashed model.

I am buying the iPhone 5 because I much prefer the Apple ecosystem (despite several devices, and lots of experience with all flavors of Android), and it has some features and improvements that I want. That said, I do agree that Apple doesn't need to take its foot off the gas, but it seems that have when it comes to the iPhone.

However, it is pretty clear from those doing market research that the iPhone 5 will be a massive success. It will be the first full release on all three major carriers, so no matter what us geeks and current smartphone users do, a lot of non-smartphone owners (ie- my 73 yo father) will be jumping on-board. But, this isn't an excuse for Apple to get lazy, or so cautious about messing with their brand identity, design and formulae that they let that get in the way of innovation. Just ask BB and Nokia where that road ends.

On the flip side of this argument, I for one, will be very interested to see where Samsung ends up in another year or two. It is pretty clear that they have already pumped the brakes on stock Android. They have subbed in a bunch of their own banded features in place of Google's, and have retained more of the look of Gingerbread, probably for the sake of consistency with the S II.

Now, they also have a massively successful phone design in the S III that is completely set apart from the iPhone. Will they continue to release radically different hardware designs, or will they do what is more natural in the business world, and start to gradually innovate and refine what is sucessful, rather than re-design? I have a strong suspicion that many will be saying the same things about Samsung in two years that they are today about Apple. We all know Google will keep throwing new stuff out there. That's what they've always done. But there's no guarantee that Samsung will always do exactly what Google wants. I predict that you will see a growing conservatism from Sammy the more sucessful they become. It is just a very natural response.

One more thing. While the Nexus and S III look good, they don't have anything even approaching the build quality of an iPhone 4S. Only one word cones to mind when I pick either of these, or a Note for that matter, up- Plastic. Even the Nexus 7, which feels nice in the hand, has had more than its share of build quality issues so far. HTC is the only Android OEM that I have seen that even approaches the attention to fit, finish, and materials that Apple has. The HTC One X is the only true rival for the iPhone 4 and 4S on these terms.

I would imagine the same level of construction will hold even more true with the 5, with the return of a metal back and a new unibody frame. So, for Apple's slow approach on software and look, I'm pretty sure there will be plenty of innovation in the physical hardware. Their new thinner one layer LCD (already patented, of course) comes to mind.

I disagree with all the personal attacks, as this is really just Rene's opinion and he is entitled to it. What bothers me is Apple is just as hypocritical. Where is Steve Jobs and his infamous "Great artist steal" comment, since we are talking about hypocrites. I just don't see any other way for Google to fight a competitor who is out right bent on the destruction of Android and willing to go thermonuclear to achieve the goal even if destroys Apple. Truly psychotic. That attitude leaves no room for fair cross licensing deals or compromise. I love Jerry, but he is wrong in this case. Google is obliged to respond. Most would call them crazy if they didn't.

Nice title. that was sarcasm. seems needlessly inflammatory. And honestly, if Google is sueing claiming they have a patent on tech and Apple doesn't have a right to use it then it would be Apple not innovating but rather using someone else's innovation.

Regardless, i don't exactly expect strict reciting of fact as articles from imore devoid of any bias (though i wish it was there) so whatever. I get it. still strikes my as strange logic that protecting a patent somehow equates to lack of innovation.

An then naturally there was a dark horse who has been re-inventing people's ideas since I touched my first 286 too long ago to mention. One fact is clear. When MS launch their tablet there will be no doubt regarding that they will have ripped off plenty, but in true MS style they will have provided it with the "why didn't I think of that feature" finesse. And THEN we see who truly rules - "ad agency", "hardware manufacturer" or king of pragmatic (yet VERY stolen) idea. Am willing to bet my house on MS...

MS did at least take the trouble to sign a cross-licensing and no copying deal with Apple. I really like the fact that they have taken the Surface in a much different direction from the iPad, design-wise. Most of the first and second-run Android tablets were very similar. Only the Transformer really did something other than a smaller screen to truly distance itself from Apple. It's good to see someone going in a different direction.

I also have to also say kudos to Google with the Nexus 7, too. The high-end Android tabs have been a disaster, so they took the more sucessful philosophy of Amazon and B&N, and pushed it further with far more capable hardware and stock Android. I have one, and while it will never replace my iPad, it is the only Android device Inhave owned that I wasn't ready to get rid of within a month. It's the best Android device on the market.

Just popped over to the Android Central article — holy wow, those people are NASTY. There are some seriously mean comments over there that make these positively tame :S

That being said, I agree. Both companies are doing what they need to do to keep their patents theirs, but this wouldn't even be the big deal it's become if Google hadn't said that "Don't be evil" bit. Funny how so many commenters don't get that this is the true issue — not that Google is suing. It's just funny that Google took the time to run a mini-campaign saying they're above all this to then go elbow-deep into the muck.

I just finished to last weeks podcast and Rene says he's not 'Stupid' into believing what Google has said in the past. Here are a few things Rene turned a blind eye on because it is obvious he's nothing more than an Apple fanboy.

1) Steve Jobs said Good artists copy great artists steal - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CW0DUg63lqU Yet before Stevie died, he wanted to annihilate Android because of some great injustice. Not one single person mentioned this in the podcast. Did they forget? Or is Apple all great that they are interpreting the great Stevie a different way?

2) When Google bought Motorola Mobility, Google said Motorola Mobility will run as a company independent of its richer, more profitable parent. Motorola Mobility is suing Apple. Not Google.

Rene do your self a favor, do your crying at your local Starbuck's not on this site.You're supposed to be an editor not a silly fanboy. Fanboys are incapable of thinking objectively. I am not saying this to be mean. I say it because that is how you come across in this post and your little rant on the podcast last week. You and Seth can learn a lot from Georgia.

I am curious to hear what you have to say on my rebuttal. Sadly I know it's not going to happen.

Full disclosure, I own a Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 7, iPhone 4S and an iPad (3rd Generation Verizon 64GB model). Don't consider me a fanboy of any product. As Ashley Esqueda says, I am bi-techual. It is true that I use my Android stuff as my daily driver that's only because I think they are better for me. The iPhone is too small to use as a phone and the iPad is too big to use as a tablet. Just for posterity, I think the Google TV, Nexus Q and Apple TV (All products I do own) can't compare to the my Xbox 360.